Tag: criminal convictions

Prosecutors say Brian Walshe searched online for, ‘Can you be charged with murder without a body?’ The law says you can | CNN

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Ana Walshe – a Massachusetts mother of three who hasn’t been seen since the new year – is still missing, even as her husband was charged this week with her murder.

Getting a murder conviction without a body may seem next to impossible. But with strong evidence – as prosecutors have argued they have against Brian Walshe – it’s not that rare, legal experts told CNN.

Some 86% of more than 500 so-called “no-body murder cases” that made it to trial from the 1800s to 2020 resulted in convictions, said Tad DiBiase, a former Assistant US Attorney for the District of Columbia who’s tracked such cases for years.

Among them is a former New York City plastic surgeon serving life in prison after killing his wife and dumping her body from a plane. A mother and son also were convicted of murdering a Manhattan socialite whose body never was found. And a jury last year convicted a man of murdering Kristin Smart, whose body hasn’t been seen since she went missing in 1996.

“Among prosecutors, the old adage was: no body, no murder. You had to have a body to prove that someone was actually killed. That has changed a lot over the years,” CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller told “CNN Tonight.”

“We know this can be done. And in (the Walshe) case, with DNA, blood evidence, cell phone, you know, E-ZPass, all of the things that string together for circumstantial evidence that didn’t exist just a short while ago, it’s not what defense lawyers used to have the advantage on.”

Walshe, 47, has pleaded not guilty in state court to charges of murder and disinterring a body without authority, as well as misleading investigators who were searching for his wife, for which he was jailed January 8. He is being held without bail.

“It is easy to charge a crime and even easier to say a person committed that crime. It is a much more difficult thing to prove it, which we will see if the prosecution can do,” his defense attorney Tracy Miner said Wednesday in a statement.

“We shall see what they have and what evidence is admissible in court, where the case will ultimately be decided.”

Corpus delicti – Latin for “body of the crime” and a common American law principle – holds that sufficient evidence a crime occurred must be shown before someone can be convicted of it.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean a physical body, DiBiase said.

A murder conviction without a body can be relatively easy to prove when “circumstantial evidence is overwhelming,” criminologist Casey Jordan told “CNN Newsroom” on Wednesday.

And it seems to be in the Walshe case, she added.

A central example may be a key question Googled by Brian Walshe just days after he said he last saw his wife – “Can you be charged with murder without a body?” – according to prosecutors who cited his online browsing history.

Indeed, in the days after 39-year-old Ana Walshe’s disappearance, Brian Walshe allegedly made a series of Google searches: “dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body,” “hacksaw best tool to dismember” and “can you identify a body with broken teeth,” according to prosecutors, including Lynn Beland on Wednesday in court.

Brian Walshe’s phone data also shows he traveled to apartment complexes in nearby towns, where prosecutors accuse him of disposing of evidence in dumpsters, they’ve said. Surveillance video from two complexes shows his Volvo and a figure fitting his description throwing bags into the dumpsters, Beland alleged.

Ten trash bags of evidence found at a garbage collection station contained apparent blood stains, a hacksaw, hatchet, towels, rags, gloves, a heavily stained rug and a full-body hazmat suit, Beland said. In the bags, investigators also found Ana Walshe’s Covid-19 vaccination card, a Prada purse she carried and part of a necklace consistent with one she can be seen wearing in photos, she said.

DNA from Ana and Brian Walshe was found on some bloody items in the bags, she said.

A search of the couple’s home uncovered blood stains and a bloody knife in the basement, prosecutors have alleged. And blood was found in Brian Walshe’s car, Beland said.

Prosecutors also have listed items Brian Walshe allegedly bought that they believe are tied to his wife’s killing. At a Home Depot on January 2, Walshe wore a face mask and rubber gloves as he bought mops, brushes, tape, a Tyvek hazmat suit with boot covers, buckets, baking soda and a hatchet, they’ve said.

No-body murder cases typically don’t feature witnesses but have at least one of three key types of evidence, said DiBiase, who in 2006 prosecuted the second such case in Washington, DC, according to a news release from that federal prosecutor’s office.

The types, he said, are:

• Forensic evidence – the gold standard and most common – can be DNA from blood or hair fibers or cell records placing a person in a particular place.

• Specific evidence can include a defendant’s confession to friends and relatives or simply their retelling to someone of the crime.

• Confessions to law enforcement usually come when a criminal’s conscience overwhelms them.

The law treats confessions to friends and family very differently than confessions to law enforcement, DiBiase said, because police must advise a suspect of their rights before getting a statement, whereas friends and family don’t have to.

Confessions to people who aren’t police – including jailhouse informants – also typically not recorded or written down, while most police confessions are, he said.

In the Walshe case, prosecutors have not obtained a confession, but what they’ve said so far offers “a map of forensic evidence and placing Brian Walshe in the locations where that forensic evidence was found,” defense attorney Misty Marris told “CNN Newsroom” on Wednesday.

“This all under the guise of those very, very damaging social media searches that really was that blueprint of his actions, according to prosecutors,” she said. “This really put the puzzle together to show the story, which is what was needed in a circumstantial evidence case to establish probable cause.”

Over time, the notion a body is needed prove someone was killed has changed a lot, Miller said.

It wasn’t until nearly 40 years after the infamous disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz that prosecutors in 2017 – using the suspect’s own words to investigators and mental health experts – secured a murder conviction. The case lacked forensic evidence tying the suspect to the crime, and Patz’s body was never found.

To convict Smart’s killer some 26 years after she vanished, prosecutors relied on soil samples from the suspect’s father’s home that tested positive for human blood, photos of the suspect’s dorm room and the detail that cadaver dogs had been alerted to the smell of human remains while searching the building, CNN affiliate KSBY reported.

And a New York City plastic surgeon was convicted in 2000 based entirely on circumstantial evidence – with no forensics or eye witnesses – of killing his wife, Gail Katz, whose body was never found, CNN affiliate WABC reported. The widower was serving to up life prison sentence when he made a chilling confession to the crime during a 2020 parole board hearing.

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January 21, 2023
Convicted member of plot to kidnap Michigan governor sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison | CNN Politics

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A Michigan federal judge sentenced a man convicted of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to nearly 20 years in prison Wednesday.

Barry Croft Jr. was part of a plan to kidnap the Democratic governor from her summer home in 2020 and practiced detonating explosives in preparation, prosecutors have said.
Croft, who was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison, the longest sentence of the people convicted, is the last of the defendants in federal court to be sentenced in connection to the plot. Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Croft to life in prison.
Explaining his sentencing decision, Judge Robert Jonker said, “I’m not somebody who’s willing ever to give up on somebody. And that’s why I think, in particular, life sentences are very unusual.”
“Because, by definition, you’re not giving people a chance to come back into the fold,” he said.
But Jonker also agreed with prosecutors that Croft was a leader to others involved in the plot, and noted his previous criminal history when handing down the sentence.
A Delaware resident, Croft had traveled to Michigan to work with the local militia members to plan and surveil Whitmer’s summer home in the summer of 2020. Croft discussed using his grenade launcher and a mounted machine gun to thwart law enforcement response to the scene as a part in the kidnapping plot, jurors heard at trial.
Trial evidence also showed that Croft practiced detonating an explosive filled with shrapnel at a training event using human silhouettes made of paper.

Croft’s attorney, Joshua Blanchard, had asked the court Wednesday to administer a sufficient sentence but “not longer than it needs to be.”
In a lengthy plea to the court, Blanchard asked the judge to consider Croft’s history of substance abuse and mental health concerns related largely to his significant marijuana use and family medical history.
He blamed much of Croft’s behavior in 2020 to intoxication and said Croft ended up in the courtroom having fell down a “conspiracy rabbit hole” during solo rides as a long-haul truck driver before his arrest.
Blanchard acknowledged his client is “a bit more susceptible to fringe ideas” and said he understands that Croft should serve a fair prison sentence – but not a life sentence.
Croft declined to speak on his own behalf at the sentencing hearing, citing advice from his attorney.
But the prosecutor pushed back on the defense arguments Wednesday, telling the court, “This man is thoroughly radicalized.”

“He hasn’t changed his viewpoint,” prosecutor Nils Kessler said.

Kessler said during his argument that Croft was the “spiritual leader” of the group “putting himself in the role of prophet.”

He also went on to argue that Croft encouraged the other participants by saying they would be the “new founding fathers.”

“People believed it” Kessler said.
Croft has long been known to law enforcement for his extreme anti-government views. And in his sentencing memo, prosecutors noted a jail call recorded earlier this month during which Croft discussed his preferences for a violent lawless society with an associate.

Jonker on Tuesday had sentenced Adam Fox, considered to be a leader of the plot with Croft, to 16 years in prison.
“There is need for public understanding of the cost of this kind of wrongdoing and certainly for specific deterrence as well. And there is impact on our overall governmental system, not just physical threat to our sitting governor, it’s the emotional baggage that now our governor will have to carry and that she’s written about in her report,” Jonker said in court before issuing Fox’s prison sentence.
And, earlier this month, three other men – Pete Musico, Joseph Morrison and Paul Bellar – were all sentenced in state court on charges of gang participation, support of a terrorist act and carrying or possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the Michigan attorney general’s office.
Musico and Bellar must serve a minimum of 12 years and seven years, respectively. The alleged “commander” of the group, Morrison – who, according to affidavits filed with the attorney general’s office, went by the online moniker “Boogaloo Bunyan” – must serve a minimum of 11 years.
This story has been updated with additional information.

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December 28, 2022
After convicting Harvey Weinstein of rape, a Los Angeles jury deadlocks on factors that could have increased his sentence | CNN

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After convicting former film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape and sexual assault, a Los Angeles jury could not reach a unanimous verdict Tuesday on alleged aggravating factors that could have increased his sentence.

The three charges Weinstein was convicted of – rape, sexual penetration by foreign object and forcible oral copulation – were all tied to one of his accusers, Jane Doe 1, a model and actress who testified the movie mogul assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel room in February 2013.

Jurors were asked to determine if Jane Doe 1 was harmed and particularly vulnerable, and if Weinstein committed the crimes with planning, professionalism, or sophistication.

Ten members of the jury found the aggravating factors had been met, but two jurors could not be swayed, one of the jurors told CNN.

“The jury has said they are not able to reach a unanimous verdict on these issues,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench said, according to a pool report. “I am going to declare a mistrial with respect to the allegations.”

Had the jury found Weinstein guilty of the aggravating factors, a new California law would have then allowed the judge to enact a harsher sentence.

Jurors had deliberated for several hours Tuesday. After the jury indicated further deliberations would not sway them, neither the prosecution or the defense pushed to have the jurors deliberate further.

When Lench asked prosecutor Paul Thompson if Weinstein will be retried on the deadlock counts, the pool report said he responded: “We need to consult the victims first and foremost.”

Weinstein’s sentencing was tentatively set for January 9, with Lench allowing only Jane Doe 1 to offer a victim impact statement. He is expected to serve 18 years.

The disgraced movie mogul was found guilty Monday of three of seven charges against him in his second sexual assault trial. The jury acquitted Weinstein of one count of sexual battery by restraint against a massage therapist in a hotel room in 2010. They were a hung jury on one count of sexual battery by restraint, one count of forcible oral copulation and one count of rape related to two other women – including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and first partner to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Weinstein had pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. His spokesman said he was “disappointed” with the outcome of the trial but “he is prepared to continue fighting for his innocence.”

The verdict was reached as jurors entered their third week of deliberations, meeting for a total of 41 hours over a period of 10 days following weeks of oftentimes emotional testimony.

“Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013. I will never get that back,” said Jane Doe 1 in a statement released through her attorney. “The criminal trial was brutal. Weinstein’s lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand. But I knew I had to see this through the end, and I did … I hope Harvey Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime.”

Elizabeth Fegan, an attorney representing Siebel Newsom, who was identified in court as Jane Doe 4, said they were disappointed the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the charges related to her client.

“My client, Jane Doe 4, shared her story not with an expectation to testify but to support all the survivors who bravely came forward,” Fegan said in a statement to CNN. “While we are heartened that the jury found Weinstein guilty on some of the counts, we are disappointed that the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on Jane Doe 4. She will continue to fight for all women and all survivors of abuse against a system that permits the victim to be shamed and re-traumatized in the name of justice.”

Weinstein is two years into a 23-year sentence for a 2020 New York conviction, which his attorneys have appealed, putting more attention on the outcome of the trial in Los Angeles.

The weekslong Los Angeles trial saw emotional testimony from Weinstein’s accusers – a model, a dancer, a massage therapist and Siebel Newsom – all of whom were asked to recount the details of their allegations against him, provide details of meetings with the producer from years ago, and explain their reactions to the alleged assaults.

Additionally, four women testified they were subjected to similar behavior by Weinstein in other jurisdictions.

Weinstein initially faced 11 charges, but four counts connected to an unnamed woman were dropped without explanation. She did not testify in the trial.

In closing arguments, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez called Weinstein a “titan” who used his power in Hollywood to prey on and silence women.

Meanwhile, Weinstein’s attorneys maintained the allegations are either fabricated or occurred consensually as part of a “transactional relationship” with the movie producer, repeatedly saying there is no evidence of assault.

Defense attorney Alan Jackson called the accusers “fame and fortune seekers.”

Jane Doe 2, who was identified as Lauren Young, told her attorney Gloria Allred by phone that she was happy Weinstein was convicted on some counts despite there being a mistrial on her count, Allred said in a news conference after the verdict.

“I am relieved that Harvey Weinstein has been convicted because he deserves to be punished for the crimes that he committed, and he can no longer use his power to intimidate and sexually assault more women,” Young said in a statement read by Allred.

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December 20, 2022
Harvey Weinstein is convicted of 3 of 7 charges, including rape, in his Los Angeles sexual assault trial | CNN

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Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was found guilty Monday of rape and sexual assault against one of four women he was accused of assaulting in Los Angeles – a significant conviction in the second trial of a man at the center of allegations that fueled the global #MeToo movement.

Weinstein, who prosecutors said used his Hollywood influence to lure women into private meetings and assault them, was found guilty of three of seven charges against him.

After weeks of emotional testimony and 10 days of deliberations, jurors in Los Angeles also acquitted Weinstein of one count of sexual battery by restraint against a massage therapist in a hotel room in 2010. They were a hung jury on one count of sexual battery by restraint, one count of forcible oral copulation and one count of rape related to two other women – including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and first partner to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The three charges Weinstein was convicted of – rape, sexual penetration by foreign object and forcible oral copulation – were all tied to one of his accusers, a model and actress who testified the movie mogul assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel room in February 2013.

The woman, identified as Jane Doe 1 in court, was the first to testify in the trial.

“Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013. I will never get that back. The criminal trial was brutal. Weinstein’s lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand. But I knew I had to see this through the end, and I did… I hope Harvey Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime,” Jane Doe 1 said in a statement released through her attorney.

Weinstein had pleaded not guilty to all seven charges against him.

“Harvey is obviously disappointed, however hopefully because with this particular accuser there are good ground to appeal based on time and location of alleged events,” Weinstein’s spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said in a statement. “He is grateful the jury took their time to deliberate on the other counts and he is prepared to continue fighting for his innocence.”

Weinstein faces a possible sentence of 24 years in prison for the Los Angeles conviction, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. The once-powerful film producer is already serving a 23-year sentence for a 2020 New York rape conviction.

Jurors will return to court Tuesday to consider aggravating factors to help determine the outcome of Weinstein’s sentencing hearing, according to the DA’s office.

The District Attorney’s office will meet to determine whether to retry the counts on which the jury could not agree, officials said.

Elizabeth Fegan, an attorney representing Siebel Newsom, who was identified in court as Jane Doe 4, said they were disappointed the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the charges related to her client.

“Harvey Weinstein will never be able to rape another woman. He will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs. Harvey Weinstein is a serial predator and what he did was rape,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement. “Throughout the trial, Weinstein’s lawyers used sexism, misogyny, and bullying tactics to intimidate, demean, and ridicule us survivors. This trial was a stark reminder that we as a society have work to do. To all survivors out there – I see you, I hear you, and I stand with you.”

Gov. Newsom also released a statement, saying, “I am so incredibly proud of my wife and all the brave women who came forward to share their truth and uplift countless survivors who cannot. Their strength, courage and conviction is a powerful example and inspiration to all of us. We must keep fighting to ensure that survivors are supported and that their voices are heard.”

The Los Angeles jury reached its verdict after deliberating for a total of 41 hours – longer than the New York jury in Weinstein’s first criminal trial, in which he was convicted of criminal sex act and third-degree rape after 26 hours of deliberations. His attorneys have appealed that conviction, which put more attention on the outcome of the trial in Los Angeles.

Jane Doe 2, who was identified as Lauren Young, told her attorney Gloria Allred by phone she was happy Weinstein was convicted on some counts despite there being a mistrial on her count, Allred said in a news conference after the verdict.

“I am relieved that Harvey Weinstein has been convicted because he deserves to be punished for the crimes that he committed, and he can no longer use his power to intimidate and sexually assault more women,” Young said in a statement read by Allred.

The weekslong trial saw emotional testimony from Weinstein’s accusers – a model, a dancer, a massage therapist and Siebel Newsom – all of whom were asked to recount the details of their allegations against him, provide details of meetings with the producer from years ago, and explain their reactions to the alleged assaults.

Weinstein initially faced 11 charges, but four counts connected to an unnamed woman were dropped without explanation. She did not testify in the trial.

In closing arguments, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez called Weinstein a “titan” who used his power in Hollywood to prey on and silence women.

“Rapists rape. You can look at the pattern,” fellow prosecutor Paul Thompson told jurors.

Meanwhile, Weinstein’s attorneys maintained the allegations were either fabricated or occurred consensually as part of a “transactional relationship” with the movie producer, repeatedly saying there is no evidence of assault.

Defense attorney Alan Jackson called the accusers “fame and fortune seekers.”

The trial in Los Angeles also included testimony from other witnesses, including experts, law enforcement, friends of accusers and former aides to Weinstein.

Additionally, four women testified they were subjected to similar behavior by Weinstein in other jurisdictions.

Each morning at trial, Weinstein was brought from a correctional facility and wheeled into the Los Angeles courtroom wearing a suit and tie and holding a composition notebook.

His accusers all began their oftentimes emotional testimonies by identifying him in the courtroom as he looked on.

“He’s wearing a suit, and a blue tie and he’s staring at me,” Siebel Newsom said last month, before what was one of the most emotional moments of the trial. She testified Weinstein raped her in a hotel room in 2005.

During the trial, defense attorney Jackson asked jurors if they could “accept what (the Jane Does) say as gospel,” arguing what they said was a lack of forensic evidence supporting their claim.

“Five words that sum up the entirety of the prosecution’s case: ‘Take my word for it,’” Jackson said. “‘Take my word for it that he showed up at my hotel room unannounced. Take my word for it that I showed up at his hotel room. Take my word for it that I didn’t consent. Take my word for it, that I said no.’ “

Siebel Newsom described an hourslong “cat-and-mouse period,” which preceded her alleged assault. She, like other accusers, described feeling “frozen” that day.

Attorneys for Weinstein do not deny the incident occurred, but said he believed it was consensual.

Jackson called the incident “consensual, transactional sex,” adding: “Regret is not the same thing as rape. And it’s important we make that distinction in this courtroom.”

In her closing arguments, Martinez highlighted the women who testified chose to do so despite knowing they would face tough conditions in court.

“The truth is that, as you sit here, we know the despicable behavior the defendant engaged in. He thought he was so powerful that people would … excuse his behavior,” Martinez said. “That’s just Harvey being Harvey. That’s just Hollywood. And for so long that’s what everyone did. Everyone just turned their heads.”

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December 19, 2022
Jury deliberating on sentence for former police officer convicted of killing Atatiana Jefferson | CNN

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A jury began deliberations Monday on a sentence for the former Texas police officer who was convicted of manslaughter last week for shooting Atatiana Jefferson in her own home in 2019.

Aaron Dean, the 38-year-old White former Fort Worth police officer, faces up to 20 years in prison for killing Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman.

Prosecutors asked the jury to sentence Dean to the maximum 20 years in prison, saying anything less was a “travesty of justice.” Dean’s defense asked jurors to sentence him to a suspended sentence and community supervision that would keep him out of prison, noting that he was acting in his role as a police officer and was not in need of rehabilitation.

The sentencing comes shortly after a brief trial fraught with issues of race, police violence and gun rights. Much of the trial testimony also focused on police body-camera footage of the shooting and a close examination of Dean’s actions before, during and after the single shot was fired.

The case dates back to about 2:25 a.m. on October 12, 2019 when Dean and his police partner responded to Jefferson’s house after a neighbor called a non-emergency police line to report that her doors were open. Dean and his police partner, Carol Darch, did not announce themselves as police at the home, and Dean then fatally shot through a bedroom window at Jefferson, who had been up late playing video games with her young nephew.

Dean resigned from the force days afterward and was arrested and charged with murder in her killing. He has been out on bond for the last three years.

At trial, defense attorneys said Dean fired in self-defense, and Dean testified that he fired at Jefferson because she pointed a gun at him. He testified that he believed the home was being burglarized because the doors were open and the place appeared ransacked.

“The state cannot prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that this was not self-defense,” defense attorney Bob Gill said. “It’s tragic, but is not an offense under the state of Texas.”

However, prosecutors argued there was no evidence he saw a gun in the woman’s hand before he fired at her. Further, Jefferson’s 11-year-old nephew, who was with her at the time, testified he did not see her raise a gun to the window. His police partner, Carol Darch, testified Dean did not mention he had seen a gun in the minutes after the shooting as they ran into the home.

“If you can’t feel safe in your own home, where can you feel safe?” Tarrant County prosecutor Ashlea Deener told jurors in closing arguments. “When you think about your house, you think about safety. It’s where you go to retreat, to get away from the world.”

Though Dean was charged with murder, jurors were also allowed to convict him on a lesser charge of manslaughter. The jury deliberated for more than 13 hours, according to CNN affiliate WFAA, before announcing a guilty verdict on Thursday. The manslaughter conviction of a police officer who was on duty is a first in Tarrant County, the station reported.

Woman shot and killed by police officer in her own home

On Friday, in the sentencing phase of the trial, jurors heard from various witnesses, including a psychologist who evaluated Dean before he was hired by the Fort Worth Police Department and members of Jefferson’s and Dean’s families.

The clinical and forensic psychologist, Dr. Kyle Clayton, described Dean as narcissistic and testified that he was “not psychologically suitable to serve as a police officer.” He said Dean exhibited signs of grandiosity.

Defense witness Tim Foster, who attended the same church as Dean, described him as “dependable, upright, noble.”

Dean’s mother, Donna, told jurors that he is the second born of her six children. She said he told the family he decided to become a police officer because “he wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and to help people.”

Dean’s younger brother, Adam, called him “a man of integrity” who “cares about honor and wanting to do the right thing.” A younger sister who is a police officer, Alyssa, testified that he is “hardworking, humble, caring.”

Jefferson’s older brother, Adarius Carr, told jurors his sister was diagnosed with diabetes at a young age and had aspired to become a doctor. Carr said Jefferson was his best friend and testified that he could not believe it when he heard she had been killed.

Jefferson graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2014 with a degree in biology and worked in pharmaceutical equipment sales, according to her family’s attorney.

She had moved to Fort Worth a few months earlier to take care of her ailing mother and her nephews, family attorney S. Lee Merritt said at the time.

The prosecution’s first witness was Zion Carr, who was 8 years old and in the bedroom with his “Aunt Tay” when she was shot.

Now 11, the boy testified they had accidentally burned hamburgers earlier in the night, so they opened the doors to air the smoke out of the house.

He and his aunt were up late playing video games when Jefferson heard a noise outside, and she then went to her purse to get her gun, he testified. He did not see her raise her firearm toward the window, he testified.

Zion said he did not hear or see anything outside the window, but he saw his aunt fall to the ground and start crying.

“I was thinking, ‘Is it a dream?’” he testified. “She was crying and just shaking.”

Prosecutors also called to the stand Dean’s police partner, Darch, who testified she was with Dean when they went to investigate the home.

She said she believed the home was being burglarized because two doors were open, lights were on inside, cabinets were wide open and things were strewn about the living room and kitchen area.

She had her back to the window when Dean began to yell out commands for Jefferson to put her hands up, she testified. Darch said she started to turn around, heard a gunshot, then looked over Dean’s shoulder and could see a face in the window with eyes “as big as saucers.”

She testified she did not see Jefferson holding a gun and didn’t recall Dean ever saying that Jefferson had a gun.

Dean testified last Monday that he fired at Jefferson because she pointed a gun at him.

“As I started to get that second phrase out, ‘Show me your hands,’ I saw a silhouette,” the former officer said. “I was looking right down the barrel of a gun, and when I saw the barrel of that gun pointed at me, I fired a single shot from my duty weapon.”

In cross-examination, however, Dean admitted many of his actions that night were “bad police work,” including firing without seeing her hands or what was behind her, failing to tell his partner he saw a gun and rushing into the home without fully ensuring it was safe.

“You’ve got another fellow officer from the Fort Worth Police Department entering a home which you have determined to be a burglary in progress with a possible armed assailant, and you didn’t think to tell your partner, ‘Hey there’s a gun inside?’” prosecutor R. Dale Smith asked.

“No,” Dean said.

“You didn’t think to tell her, ‘Hey I saw somebody with a gun?’” Smith asked.

“No,” he said.

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December 19, 2022
Iran issues first death sentence linked to recent protests | CNN

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An Iranian court has issued the first death sentence linked to recent protests, convicting the unnamed person of “enmity against God” and “spreading corruption on Earth,” state media reports.

It comes following weeks of nationwide demonstrations, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in September.

Iran’s Revolutionary Court issued the sentence to a protester who allegedly set fire to a government building, reported state media.

They were convicted on the charge of “disturbing public order and peace, community, and colluding to commit a crime against national security, war and corruption on Earth, war through arson, and intentional destruction,” according to state news agency IRNA on Sunday.

Five others who took part in the protests received sentences of five to 10 years in prison, convicted of “collusion to commit a crime against national security and disturbance of public peace and order.”

IRNA added that these decisions are preliminary and can be appealed. The news agency did not name the protester who received the death sentence or provide details on when or where they committed the alleged crime.

Iran has been rocked by anti-regime protests since September in the greatest demonstration of dissent in recent years, sparked by outrage over the death of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who had been detained by the morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.

Iranian authorities have since unleashed a brutal crackdown on protesters, having charged at least 1,000 people in Tehran province for their alleged involvement.

Security forces have killed at least 326 people since the protests began two months ago, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO.

That figure includes 43 children and 25 women, the group said in an update to its death toll on Saturday, saying that its published number represented an “absolute minimum.”

CNN cannot independently verify the figure as non-state media, the internet, and protest movements in Iran have all been suppressed. Death tolls vary by opposition groups, international rights organizations and journalists tracking the ongoing protests.

Despite the threat of arrests – and harsher punishments for those involved – Iranian celebrities and athletes have stepped forward to support the anti-government protests in recent weeks.

On Friday, United Nations experts urged Iranian authorities “to stop indicting people with charges punishable by death for participation, or alleged participation, in peaceful demonstrations” and “to stop using the death penalty as a tool to squash protests.”

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November 14, 2022
Putin signs law to mobilize Russian citizens convicted of serious crimes | CNN

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law to conscript citizens with unexpunged or outstanding convictions for murder, robbery, larceny, drug trafficking and other serious crimes under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to be called up for military service to mobilize.

This makes it possible to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people who have been sentenced to probation or have recently been released from colonies who were previously forbidden to serve.

The only group of criminals exempted from the decree are those who committed sex crimes against minors, treason, spying or terrorism. Also excluded are those convicted of the attempted assassination of a government official, hijacking an aircraft, extremist activity and illegal handling of nuclear materials and radioactive substances.

President Vladmir Putin said Friday that the Kremlin had already mobilized an additional 18,000 soldiers above its goal of 300,000 to fight in its war in Ukraine from the general male population of Russia.

Earlier this week, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that all partial mobilization activities, including summons deliveries, had been suspended after officials said the draft’s target of recruiting 300,000 personnel had been met.

However, Putin’s partial mobilization order will only end when the Russian President signs in an official decree. Until then, he reserves the right to recruit more people into military conscription in the future.

The head of Russia’s notorious Wagner forces, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has apparently summoned prisoners from Russian jails to join the mercenary group in fighting the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

The amendments signed by Putin are unrelated to these alleged recruitments. Instead, the law applies to prisoners who were conditionally convicted or released from colonies. These people usually must remain under the supervision of the authorities for eight to ten years until the conviction is canceled.

They are not allowed to leave their place of residence and must comply with various restrictions.

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November 5, 2022
Could Donald Trump serve as president if convicted? | CNN Politics

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CNN
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Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges related to 2020 election subversion, a stunning third time this year that the former president has faced criminal charges.

But could the former president, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, assume the Oval Office again if convicted of the alleged crimes? In short, yes.

University of California, Los Angeles law professor Richard L. Hasen – one of the country’s leading experts on election law – said Trump still has a path to serving as president should he win reelection in 2024.

“The Constitution has very few requirements to serve as President, such as being at least 35 years of age. It does not bar anyone indicted, or convicted, or even serving jail time, from running as president and winning the presidency,” he said in an email to CNN.

Could a president serve from prison? That’s less clear.

“How someone would serve as president from prison is a happily untested question,” Hasen said.

The newest criminal counts against Trump include: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

Those are in addition to a total of 40 counts in a separate federal indictment related to the special counsel’s investigation into the mishandling of classified documents, as well as 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business records in Manhattan related to an alleged hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving an adult film star.

If Trump were to be convicted before the 2024 election and win the contest, he could try to grant himself a pardon, according to Hasen.

“Whether he can do so is untested. The Supreme Court may have to weigh in,” Hasen said, adding that Trump could potentially appeal a conviction to the conservative Supreme Court.

Special counsel Jack Smith told reporters that he will seek a “speedy trial,” but if Trump was to be elected before a trial concluded, he may be able dismiss it entirely.

Robert Ray, an attorney who defended Trump in his first impeachment trial, said on CNN following Trump’s June indictment in the classified documents case that the former president “would control the Justice Department” if reelected, adding that if the documents case was pending at that time, “he just dismisses the case.”

Asked about the latest indictment, Trump defense attorney John Lauro told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins he thinks a potential trial could last “nine months or a year.”

Lauro said he will need to see the evidence but that his client deserves as much time as any other American. “Every single person in the United States is entitled to due process, including the former president,” he said.

If Trump is convicted of a felony at the federal level or in New York, he would be barred from voting in his adoptive home state of Florida, at least until he had served out a potential sentence.

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April 12, 2021